WCR CEO Vern Long Highlights Year of Breakthroughs in Delivering Resilient Coffee Varieties
January 6 - 2026
Coffee Geography Magazine
In a year defined by escalating climate threats to agricultural systems worldwide, World Coffee Research (WCR), under the leadership of CEO Vern Long, has announced a series of transformative achievements for 2025. Bolstered by sustained investment from over 200 companies across 30 countries, the non-profit has significantly accelerated its mission to secure the future of coffee through unprecedented scientific collaboration and on-the-ground impact.
“2025 was a pivotal year,” stated Long. “While our industry faces tremendous challenges, it is precisely in this space where disruptive innovation emerges. Together with our global partners, we’ve strengthened pathways to move climate-resilient, high-performing trees into farmers’ fields faster than ever. This work is essential for securing the long-term stability of our global coffee supply.”
The organization’s progress underscores a growing consensus: mitigating systemic risk for the $200+ billion coffee industry requires pre-competitive, scientific collaboration. WCR’s community of members and partners is supporting what Long describes as “a movement that is mitigating significant risk and cultivating a sense of hope across the sector.”
Key 2025 breakthroughs highlight an aggressive, multi-pronged strategy. WCR dramatically increased farmer accessibility to existing high-performing varieties, installing new arabica seed lots in Peru and establishing disease-resilient robusta gardens in Uganda through deep partnerships with national institutes.
The organization also celebrated a historic milestone with the Innovea Global Coffee Breeding Network, hailed as one of TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2025. This globally coordinated program realized its first harvest from initial arabica field trials and launched a parallel robusta breeding initiative. The network now spans 11 countries—including new collaborators Vietnam and Ghana—that together produce 40% of the world’s coffee supply, aiming to create resilient varieties that support origin diversity.
Driving this impact is an engine of unprecedented global collaboration. WCR convenes scientists, governments, and companies to tackle foundational challenges, exemplified by a landmark 2025 study that brought together researchers from 15 countries to analyze how 29 arabica varieties respond to leaf rust, accelerating the development of resistant trees.
“Our collaboration is the engine that powers our impact,” Long emphasized. “From national institutes to individual farmers and industry members, we are on an unparalleled scientific journey to ensure a secure future for coffee.”
As WCR looks to the new year, Long extended thanks to its global network, noting that the collective commitment to science and partnership is the cornerstone of building a more resilient, and hopeful, future for coffee worldwide.
World Coffee Research is a non-profit collaborative research and development organization within the global coffee industry. Its mission is to grow, protect, and enhance supplies of quality coffee while improving the livelihoods of the families who produce it.